I push through the front door like I own the place. The reception area is small—a counter, some plastic chairs, a bulletin board covered in community notices. A young deputy sits behind the counter, and when he looks up, his eyes go wide.
“Can I help you?” His voice is hesitant, almost nervous. Soft brown eyes, a gentle face, the kind of energy that makes you want to protect him instead of the other way around.
“I’m looking for Deputy Thorn. Nate.”
“He’s, uh...” The deputy glances toward a hallway like he’s hoping for rescue. “He’s in the back. Doing paperwork. I don’t think he wants to be disturbed.”
“He’s about to be very disturbed.” I flash him my sweetest smile. “I’m?—”
“Cara.” Seth’s eyes go wide. “Nate’s Cara.”
Before I can respond, a familiar voice comes from the hallway. “Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in.”
I turn to find Liam Thorn filling the doorway, and my heart squeezes. He’s filled out since I last saw him—broader, moresettled into himself, sheriff’s badge gleaming on his chest. But that’s the same crooked grin he used to flash me when we’d team up to prank Nate, the same warm eyes that made him feel like the big brother I never had.
“Liam.” My voice comes out thick.
He opens his arms. “Get over here, Donovan.”
I don’t hesitate. I cross the room and let him fold me into a hug that smells like coffee and familiarity and ten years of missing someone I didn’t let myself think about.
“Missed you, kid,” he says into my hair.
“Missed you too.” I pull back, blinking hard. “You got old.”
“You got mouthy.” But he’s grinning. “Oh wait, you were always mouthy.” He holds me at arm’s length, looking me over. “You’re here for Nate.”
“I’m here for Nate.”
His grin fades into something more serious. “Good. He needs a kick in the ass, and I’m too nice to do it.”
“Since when are you nice?”
“Fair point.” He lets me go and nods toward the hallway. “Seth, go get my brother.”
“But he said he didn’t want to be?—”
“Seth.”
The young deputy scrambles out of his chair and disappears down the hallway. Liam turns back to me, arms crossed.
“Twelve hundred dollars, huh? That’s what I heard.”
“Your brother is the only one trying to welch on the deal.”
Liam snorts. “He’s stubborn.”
“So am I.”
“Don’t I know it.” His expression softens. “He’s scared, Cara. Not that he’d ever admit it. But I’ve known him his whole life, and I know what fear looks like on him. You terrify him.”
Before I can respond, a door slams somewhere down the hall. Heavy footsteps. And then Nate Thorn appears in the doorway, looking like thunder given human form.
His scent hits me first—pine and woodsmoke, locked down tight. Controlled. Giving away nothing.
But my body doesn’t care about his walls. My body knows alpha. Knowshim. Heat sparks low in my belly, immediate and unwanted.
“What are you doing here?” His voice is flat. Guarded.
